While many people (me included) avoid phone calls if possible, phone leads are still great for conversion. Statistics show that phone calls convert to revenue 10-15 times more than web leads.
If a significant amount of your leads are coming from inbound phone calls, how can you ensure you're getting the most out of each and every call? The answer is simple: call tracking. With powerful tools like Callrail or Delacon, you can track where your leads are coming from, measure the success of your marketing activities, and even improve the quality of your calls. In this article, we'll delve into why call tracking is a must-have for your business.
- Track where leads are coming from: Ever wondered which of your marketing activities are actually driving calls? With call tracking software, you can track the origin of each call, giving you a clear picture of what's working and what's not.
- Measure success and ROI: By understanding where your calls are coming from, you can measure the success of your marketing activities and calculate an accurate ROI. This is crucial for making informed decisions about where to invest your marketing budget.
- Improve call quality: Callrail isn't just about tracking, it's also about improving the quality of your calls. With call recording and AI call analysis, you can gain insights into your call handling, identify areas for improvement, and ensure you're providing the best possible service to your leads.
So, if you're relying on phone calls for leads, it's high time to consider a call tracking system. Let's dive deeper into why this is a must for your business.
What call tracking is and how it works
Call tracking, quite simply, is the process of determining where your phone leads are coming from. It's a strategy that allows you to measure the success rate of your marketing activities and to fine-tune your strategies based on hard data. So, how does this work?
It all revolves around assigning unique phone numbers - known as tracking numbers - to different marketing channels. There are two main types of these numbers: dynamic and static.
Dynamic Numbers
Dynamic numbers are ideal for online marketing. These numbers change depending on who is visiting your website or landing page. This means that individual users can each be assigned their own unique tracking number which helps you to understand exactly what led them to call you. Here's how it typically works:
- A visitor lands on your website or landing page.
- The website's code detects the source of the visitor.
- A unique phone number is dynamically generated from a pool of numbers assigned to your firm and displayed to the visitor.
- If they call, you can trace it back to the exact source - be it a PPC campaign, an organic search or a social media ad. You can often get really detailed information for paid traffic using UTM variables such as the exact keyword searched for Google Ads or the ad variant clicked on a social media campaign.
Static Numbers
Static numbers, on the other hand, are best suited to offline marketing. These are numbers that don't change - you'd use them in places like Google business listings, print ads, billboards or TV commercials. Then, when a lead calls that number, you'll know exactly where it came from.
In a nutshell, call tracking lets you know where your leads are coming from, helping you to make informed decisions about where to invest your marketing budget for the best ROI.
The benefits of using a call tracking system
Let's talk about the benefits of using a call tracking system. Perhaps you've heard of solutions like Callrail but you're not quite sure what they can offer your company. Well, you're in luck because we're going to delve into why these systems are just the tool that your business needs to optimise your marketing efforts and improve ROI.
Pinpoint the Source of Your Leads
Firstly, call tracking systems allow you to identify exactly where your leads are coming from. Imagine knowing whether your latest billboard campaign, SEO efforts, or a social media post brought that keen customer to your door. It's all possible with call tracking.
Measure Success of Marketing Activities
Secondly, these systems allow you to measure the success of your marketing activities with precision. You can assess which of your marketing channels are most effective and adjust your strategies accordingly, ensuring you're not wasting precious resources on less effective channels.
Improve Call Quality
Another key benefit of call tracking systems is the significant improvement in call quality. Solutions like Callrail provide call recording features, giving you the opportunity to revisit conversations, identify areas of improvement and provide constructive feedback to your team. This leads to a higher quality of service, better customer interactions and ultimately, more sales.
Leverage AI Analysis
Lastly, the advent of AI in call tracking systems provides unprecedented insights. The AI can analyse the data from your calls, identifying trends, patterns and opportunities that would be impossible to spot manually. This means you can take action based on data-driven insights, giving you an edge over your competitors.
In summary, a call tracking system like Callrail provides invaluable benefits to any business that relies on phone calls for leads. It allows you to pinpoint where your leads are coming from, measure the success of your marketing campaigns, improve call quality and leverage the power of AI analysis for data-driven insights. So, the question isn't really whether you can afford to invest in a call tracking system, but rather, can you afford not to?
How call recording and AI analysis can improve the quality of your calls
Imagine being able to listen in on every call your business receives, gaining valuable insights about your customers, your team's performance and the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. This isn't a farfetched dream, it's the reality with call recording and AI analysis, and it's completely transforming the way businesses handle their phone leads. But how exactly can it improve the quality of your calls? Let's delve into that.
1. Training and Performance Evaluation
Call recording allows you to playback conversations between your team and your customers. It's like having a second chance to listen, to understand, and to evaluate. This is invaluable for training your staff. It provides real, tangible examples of what to do and what not to do during a call. AI analysis takes this a step further by analysing the effectiveness of the call and providing actionable insights on how to improve.
2. Understanding Customer Needs
By listening to your calls, you can truly understand what your customers want and need. You can hear their pain points, their questions, their hesitations and their affirmations. AI analysis can help identify patterns and trends in these needs, allowing you to adapt your business to better serve your customers. 80% of callers are likely to become repeat customers if their first call experience is positive and having insights on what makes a great experience for your potential customers will help you drive more positive first impressions.
3. Improving Marketing Efforts
Call recording and AI analysis isn't just about improving the quality of individual calls, it's about improving your entire business. By tracking where leads are coming from, you can measure the success of your marketing activities and return on investment (ROI). This allows you to optimise your marketing efforts, targeting those channels that generate the most high-quality leads.
Remember, every phone call is an opportunity to learn, to improve, and to grow your business. Don't let these opportunities pass you by. Start utilising call recording and AI analysis today.
4. Analyse the Cost
Lastly, analyse the cost. Ensure the system offers good value for money. While it might be tempting to go for the cheapest option, remember that you often get what you pay for.
In conclusion, choosing the right call tracking system for your business is a careful balancing act. It requires understanding your needs, ensuring compatibility, checking scalability, and analysing cost. However, the benefits such as improved ROI, better insight into marketing success, and enhanced call quality make it well worth the effort.
Why You Still Need to Ask 'Where did you hear about us?'
Call tracking is great but you still need to ask callers where they heard about you as there are some things call tracking won't pick up on.
If someone has heard of your brand through offline advertising or a recommendation, they will typically Google your brand to come to your website. The issue here is that Calltracking is going to allocate the call to search (organic or paid depending on where user clicked) but you should really be allocating it to it's true source.
Here are some common scenarios:
- Heard your ad on the radio
- Saw brand on a billboard/outdoor advertising
- Watched an ad on TV
- Got recommended you by a friend or family member
- Referal by another company who couldn't help them out (common in industries such as law)
Call tracking is great though for most scenarios and vague answers such as "I was just searching online"
Common misconceptions about call tracking: Debunking the myths
When it comes to call tracking, there's a lot of smoke and mirrors out there. Misconceptions abound, leading many small and medium-sized business owners to shy away from this valuable tool. Let's clear the air and debunk some common myths.
Myth 1: Call Tracking Impacts SEO Negatively
One of the most prevalent myths about call tracking is that it can negatively impact SEO. This mainly comes down to Google looking for consistent local citation details such as phone numbers and the fear that using various numbers will upset Google. Properly implemented call tracking won't harm your SEO efforts; instead, it can actually enhance them. By providing insights into your marketing strategies, call tracking can help you understand what's working and what's not, enabling you to refine your SEO strategy for better results. For example, you can see which pages are generating calls which convert.
Myth 2: Call Tracking is Expensive
Many business owners wrongly assume that call tracking is an expensive investment. While it's true that there are costs involved, the return on investment (ROI) can be substantial. When you consider the valuable insights it provides, the ability to optimise your marketing campaigns, and the potential for increased lead conversion, call tracking can soon pay for itself. Plus, with solutions like CallRail, there are affordable options for businesses of all sizes.
Myth 3: Call Tracking is Complicated
Another common misconception is that call tracking is complex and hard to implement. In reality, modern call tracking systems are user-friendly and straightforward. Many platforms offer intuitive interfaces and comprehensive support and only some simple line of code to add to your site or Google Tag Manager (Plugins are an option for Wordpress sites as well), making it easy even for non-tech-savvy users to get started.
Myth 4: Only Large Businesses Benefit from Call Tracking
Call tracking isn’t just for big businesses. Small to medium-sized businesses can also reap significant benefits. Whether you're receiving a handful or hundreds of calls each day, understanding where those calls are coming from and the success of your marketing efforts can provide valuable insights that can drive growth.
In summary, don't let myths and misconceptions deter you from leveraging call tracking. Remember, informed decisions are the best decisions. So why not give call tracking a go and see the difference it can make for your business?
